In this months’ issue:
- CAA Issues Clear Guidance on Licencing Extensions
- Down on the farm 24 this month April 2020 – Tony Palmer
- LAA Launches a YouTube Channel
- A book to read to your (grand)kids
- Radiotelephony Manual: New edition now published
- 26th April – World Pilots’ Day
CAA Issues Clear Guidance on Licencing Extensions
The CAA have been issuing a plethora of orders extending various licencing validities. However you needed to be a specialised aviation lawyer to make sense of them. The All Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation wrote the CAA a letter complaining about the impenetrable legalese. Amazingly they responded with a simplified statement. See it here: https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%201913%20Exemption%20Guidance.pdf
Maybe this will create precedent and future announcements from the CAA will be human-readable; here’s hoping!
Down on the farm 24 this month April 2020
Klemm L25C G-ACXE,
I was spraying something with 2 pack gloss black and had a bit surplus so sprayed the carburettor air inlet duct see pic. Otherwise no work on this project.
General
Engine running during the lockdown: – Neither of the planes in the hanger have ran since September 2019, so having read the LAA sheet on the subject and the problems with internal corrosion inside the crankshaft of the Gipsy Major engine in 5084 I decided to ground run both planes for a total of 35 mins with high power setting for about 15 mins with the park brake applied. And I gave the Tiger a birthday and washed it including all wing surfaces!!!
G-NGAA was also ran but with the advantage of instrumentation the temperatures can be monitored, so I ran with the park brake applied for about 15 mins at a high power setting such that the water temperature was between 100 deg c to 110 deg c to chase of the moisture.
I noticed the paint on the Tiger’s propeller was suffering from a sort of mildew so I decided to repaint it. It had been sprayed with an aerosol of clear lacquer about 2 years ago because it was suffering a similar fate then, so it was time to sort it as there will not be much flying for a while.
Tiger hooked up to the tow-in tractor
The painted Klemm inlet duct
The Tiger prop being prepared for painting
Alvis Firebird
The engine was not a runner when I brought it. The word was that the top end had been rebuilt with all new pistons, liners, exhaust valves, springs etc and once it had about 250 miles under its belt it had developed a big end knock.
I pulled the engine out after a bit of head scratching and took the cylinder block and head off in one lump and found it was caused by one of the small end pinch bolts having been stripped but it had stayed in place thank goodness. I think that the gudgen pin had been tight in the small end when the bolt had been screwed in and it had machined some of the thread off the soft bolt as it went in. I cleaned up all the internal threads and fitted 4 new pinch bolts and then reassembled the engine and popped it back in and it is running fine at present.
Worn pinch bolt
Conrod small-end eye opened up
Tony Palmer
LAA Launches a YouTube Channel
Find it here: youtube.com/channel/UCQ8Ytam8IS5PEjyJemdxMiQ
To start there are six ‘LAA Explorer’ videos featuring LAA Ambassador Arthur Williams; looking at Ownership, Maintenance, Preventative Measures, Engines, Avonics and simply, Flying for Fun!
A book to read to your (grand)kids
Tony Palmer recently got this email:
Dear Sir
I recently received a lovely email from a retired pilot informing me that he had very much enjoyed reading my children’s aviation novel, Stranded, with his granddaughter via Skype whilst in isolation. He suggested I contact flying clubs to recommend other aviators do likewise.
Stranded is a Flight of the Phoenix style novel for children about a young aviation enthusiast who finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness with a crashed plane which he needs to repair and pilot out.
My daughter, ‘wannabe Captain Talitha,’ was the inspiration for the novel. My husband, ‘actual Captain Richard,’ provided technical aviation knowledge. My novel has recently been published and is currently available from Amazon (a link is included below) and major bookstores. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the novel will be donated to organisations that encourage young people into the aviation field.
Would you please consider mentioning Stranded in your next newsletter or email to your members and students? They may also like to know that my website https://www.jetimlin.com, has lots of aviation facts for children and free quizzes for them to complete.
My husband, since he has a considerable amount of time on his hands at the moment, is preparing a Links Page for the website. Would it be okay to add your organisation to the list of aviation clubs and organisations?
Thank you for your time
Julie Timlin
Stranded by J.E.Timlin
ISBN 978-1916173538
https://amzn.to/2SYCzKj, Paperback and Kindle Editions
Radiotelephony Manual: New edition now published
The Radiotelephony Manual (CAP 413) has been updated. Edition 23 includes updates to: Foreword; Definitions; Military Callsigns and numerous editorial changes. It has been published today and has an effective date of 8 June 2020.
www.caa.co.uk/CAP413
26th April – World Pilots’ Day
Yes, I missed it too, but I’ll put it in the calendar for next year. Started in 2014 by the Turkish Airline Pilots’ Association, the date marks the maiden flight of Fesa Evrensev, Turkey’s first pilot.
Here are some more international aviation celebratory days:
- Aviation Maintenance Technician Day – May 24
- International Flight Attendant Day – May 31
- International Day of the Air Traffic Controller – October 19
- International Civil Aviation Day – December 7
Events
Corona Virus Restrictions There will be no club nights for the foreseeable future; we will inform you once the restrictions are lifted.
For the latest list of events, go to the Events page on the Strut website.
Light Aircraft Association Southern Strut 